Back in 2010, when I was in 10th grade, we had an assignment to write a diary from the perspective of the protagonist. The book I have chosen to write about was “I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño. The book really inspired and moved me, and that meant quite a lot considering the fact that I was barely interested in reading any books at all.

 

 

-         I still see her (Juan’s mother) in my dreams. How she cuddled and kissed me. My life would be so much different if she was here. Though, still I would have to go every day for small errand for my mistress and help out on the kitchen, my life would still be more enjoyable that what it is today. Nevertheless the pain of loneliness and lack of belongings is starting to fade as I see something in my mistress that I haven’t noticed before. She dressed me into a light-blue costume so that I looked more like a noble boy and she would make me spend much of my time with her. I thank her for that as now I didn’t have to do all this fitly jobs like cleaning and such. From times to time she would give me some money for the sweets and she also fed me quite well and would watch for me when I’m sick. She poked a hole in my ear and she gave me my mother’s earning and from that time my mother’s memento always was with me wherever I gone. I’m thankful to her for that she taught me how to read and write. I would spend hours writing letter for her, I didn’t really mind as they were interesting.

-         Damn that Carmelo! He hated me and I know that the only reason why he didn’t throw me out and go on his own way was because he still have to get his half pay for delivering me to Diego’s place. The only thing I’m thankful to him is that he taught me one thing without which, I wouldn’t survive during my journey – the skill to steal. I stole all the food I could as most of my trip I was hungry and thirsty. When Diego saw how I was treated by Carmelo he kicked him out from the mansion right away. From that moment I knew that he was different. As time passed our partnership, or must I say my slavership has begun to transform to something less custom and more emotional. I was feeling we were becoming closer as my obedience towards the master grew to some sort of friendship, and it wasn’t one side feeling! He felt that as well, I knew that. He treated me more than slave. He did good things to me and I will never forget him.

Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy

       Another all -nighter. This song was stuck in my head all night.  There is a slight buzz in the head. The voices outside on the streets all blend together into an unrecognizable massive cacophony.

       One, two, no three coffees have done the trick, I am back on my feet, not that I was ever standing in the first place. With 12-15 hours of spare time, I will most likely indulge myself in another interesting law reading, after which I will force my body to shut down for a couple hours of sleep. In times like, when I am full of inspiration, I wish I could continue writing my novel, but I left the draft at home. So my only opportunity of creative writing is embodied in this blog.

       It is quite ironic how some of the blog writing tools are some complex and sophisticated, yet there is no real option for a TAB. So instead I have to type 5 spaces. That brings me to one interesting point. Limitations serve as a ground for growth of creativity.  Because essentially  by having boundaries your mind is trying to think “out of the box”. It can be something as simple as literally typing 7 spaces because there is no option to use the TAB button. When I first started to shape this blog from design point of view, I realized how many limitations there were. There was an easy way of paying 30 bucks for customization, but I mean come on, who would do that? I started searching for templates that had certain options for widgets and headers and footers. In the end I was able to find quite a nice style for my blog, emphasizing content over visual design; I like to keep it minimalistic.

How to travel for free

“I’ve done some couch surfing and hitchhiking, and I have a little experience with urban and wild camping. Nothing’s stopping you from traveling for free.

The only thing is… you need massive grizzled testicles. There’s a lot of courage required to silence all those voices in your head saying stuff like; “You can’t sleep here! It’s not secure! People will see you!!” or “Don’t eat that. It’s from a dumpster!!! I don’t care if it smells fine!!”. Once you get the ball rolling those things fade and discomfort becomes the norm and you don’t even think twice. At first though, every new thing is terrifying.

Some tips;

Be resourceful: What was once a taken for granted as an “icky public restroom” will become free drinking water, free bath, free toilet, a chance to see your reflection to get less hobo-ey, and a moment of actual privacy. A dirty shoelace you found at a campsite will bind that umbrella and cardboard to your pack. I carried a bucket everywhere. Yeah I looked weird, but I never went without a: seat, hat, container, drum, table, or conversation starter.

Be sociable: That kind of dirty but smiley traveler is much less likely to be asked to leave than the smelly reclusive grouch. You’re less of a threat when you show you can interact with people properly and you are a friendly face. Small talk will become a major tool to casually figure out the best gas station to catch a ride at, if the public transit is cheatable, and a great way to make friends that might just invite you to ride with them, or even have a nice dinner at their place. (One time in Belgium this one kind of sketchy guy I caught a ride with offered to have me over for dinner and let me crash at his place. Turns out he was really friendly and cool just shy. Also he had two gorgeous daughters my age, gave me a tour of the WWI battlegrounds in his home town and gave me Trappist beer. If I wasn’t so likable and friendly, he probably would have just dropped me off at his exit.) Talk to other travelers especially. They know the good or cheap spots and usually have fun stories. Sometimes you even meet temporary traveling partners. It does get lonely out there.

Practice something cool to perform: I told myself “I’ll fine tune my harmonica skills on the road”. Sure I practiced and got better, but I didn’t have the confidence to start busking. Be good at it before you start. Go watch street performers. I got to go to a street performing festival in Berlin, and it is waaay more than pick a spot, do cool stuff, get money. Study your craft first.

Bring a phone: For real… yeah it’s cool to be off the grid and stuff, but I missed the internet, and my music and I liked to share my stories with friends and family. A cheap smartphone will let you do all this for free wherever you can sniff out wifi instead of having to hunt down and pay for internet cafes. Not to mention if you’re between towns and you break a leg you’re dead, unless you have a phone.

Test runs with your gear: Those anti-microbial underwear… you wanna be sure before you embark with one set of skivies. That pack… If it doesn’t fit just right, you will be in hell. Them shoes… If they can’t handle intense usage or your feet can’t handle them, you’re dead in the water. One time I went on a sailing/camping expedition on the Texas Intercoastal Waterway, and on the first night I discovered that my tent was just the rain cover. Luckily I was traveling with my grandpa/ sensei who helped me fashion a new tent out of four sticks, two homemade steaks, a found rope, and a mosquito net. All before nightfall too.

Ease your way into it: Don’t leave the house on your first journey and expect to jump right into: hitchiking, camping, dumpster diving, and busking all at once. It will whip your ass and sending you home to shamefully explain to everyone how you couldn’t handle it. I don’t care how tough or zen you are. Master one maybe two things at once. When you feel comfortable take something new on. No one is a master frugal traveler over night.

Don’t be afraid to ‘Wing it’, but enjoy planning it: Opportunities will present themselves. You might meet some radical Czech dude that shares his pot, who wants to go to Amsterdam, but is afraid to learn to hitchkike by himself. However planning will give you something to get excited about. It will keep your mind focused on your goal. Learn about possible cool stuff ahead of time. Get familiar with online resources like hostelbooker.com (trust me, you will have a shit day eventually and really want a hot shower, and a soft bed one night) or tripadvisor.com.

Be confident: Don’t look like a victim or you will become one. Also you become more likable. If you need to look pathetic, be clumsy and smiley about it. The hopeless dolt is more likely to get assistance than the pity party.

Be creative, there’s a potential solution to any problems you find. Don’t forget to meditate on what you did that day as you go to sleep. You might take how cool what you’re doing is for granted if you don’t stop to think about it. “Holy shit. That whole ‘time zone change miss the train kerfuffle’ is quite the story.” Keep pen and pad around. Don’t talk about your travels too much. Learn about the local laws for practicality, and politics for fun. People love explaining their politics to foreigners.

Good luck and safe travels!!”

 

By Master_Mollusc, from this page

34

34:30 PM

 

        The battlefield is covered with mixture of flesh and bits of twisted machinery. Captain RavenGolm Heiz the Second feels like he is heading to the final court with the Emperor. The agony has overwhelmed him and he is on the brink of spiritual, mental and physical breakdown. If only he has used his jump rockets to avoid the sudden flank fire of the Dreadnought he might have been leading the storm troopers by now.

His hands are shaking… disorientation…Suddenly, a blink of faith

 

        -Emperor…No…I cannot forfeit now, the Human race lies on my shoulders…not here *reaches for his pocket and opens it with that little bit of strength he has left

 

        Heiz takes out an adrenaline shot and stabs himself into the chest. Suddenly everything is clear. Suddenly he knows once again who he is and what his objective is. He also realizes that this is not forever and that he has little time left to turn the tides of the battle.

 

 

       -Jeroz 2 we need the last troopers you guys have, forget about the bunker, the cannon fodder will occupy it soon enough anyways! Albert! Where are you?! Get your dropship here…

 

                                 -Aleksandr Belugin-

The Yongzheng dialogue with his old friend over the phone

          

           Some back story. When I was in Grade 10, we had a final assignment to do. Our history teacher assigned us to create a creative form of delivery for historically-related content. I had 2 projects one of which was me performing a monologue by the Chinese Emperor Yongzheng. It went out pretty well, I believe I got 6/7 for it. So here it is. Unedited, as it was 3 years ago.

            Although Yongzheng was killed in 1735, the dialogue is set 10 years of his reign in a setting where Yongzheng actually retired.

-          Hey bro, long time long time mate!

-          Yeah I’m fine now

-          You don’t remember how I became an Emperor? Okay, I’ll tell you

-          At the beginning, my father had four sons who survived to the adulthood: Me, Yinreng, Yinshi and Yinzhi. Though there actually were others, but they meant little to my father

-          My father knew that having an isolated life for us as nobles was a bad idea so he decided to give us education outside of the palace. He so to say exposed us to the outside world.

-           One I even was an honorary leader of the Plain Red Banner during my father’s second battle against Mongol Khan Gordhun.

-          I think that is the point of when my influence started to grow

-          I was made a believe in 1689 and then successively raised to the position of second-class prince in 1698.

-          An interesting thing happened in 1704.

-          The whole China was caught by a surprise when Yangtze and Yellow Rivers have over flooded

-          I was send out as an envoy of my father along the 13^th Imperial Prince Yinxiang to deal with the problem

-          I remember that the economy at that region was totally crippled

-          The nobles didn’t had the money to pay for the repairs so I had to secure the relief funds from the wealthy southern tycoons and be sure to distribute them equally through the damaged regions

-          Thanks to my efforts I was awarded with a title of a first class Prince, the Prince Yongi 1709

-          Yeah, and then my dad removed Yinreng as his successor, I believe it was in 1712

-          And then there was a lot of fuss about who will become the successor

-          In the end, when our dad was about to die he called all of us along with General Longkodo and told us that I shall be the successor

-          Yeah I was happy about the news

-          I knew that my brothers would from now on be my enemies so I got rid of most of them with various means

-          Well you know, house arrest and all that other kind of stuff

-          What did I do after I became an Emperor

-          Well, firstly I chosen an era name and so the year 1723 was to be the first year of the Yongzheng era!

-          Then I released my old friend Yinxiang who was imprisoned by my dad

-          Also I created new Imperial counsel of people I trusted

-          There were 8th prince Yinsi, the 13th prince Yinxiang, Zhang Tingyu, Ma Qi, and of course good old general Longkodo

-          In addition I suppressed all the writings that were against my regime, particularly those of the anti-Manchu ideologies

-          I prohibited smoking of madak, you know the one you where you mix tobacco with opium

-          Yeah, through my reign I fought corruption and tried to purge all the evil I could find in my empire

-          There were a lot of political dogs who used any suspicion possible to try to doubt my reign so I did like my father

-          I used the army to preserve my throne

-          I won the Tibetian campaign in 1728, the Dzungars lost

-          It cost me 8mil of taels though

-          Then I tried to make one more raid with smaller forces but I failed so my allies, the Khalha tribe helped me

-          I must say regardless of whether there was war or not I was still been able to raise the treasury from 32mil in 1721 to 60mil in 1730

-          Though still, military expenses were too much so I made peace with those Dzungars later on to save some money on future raids

-          Now I’m retired and my son, Hongli has taken my place.

-          Okay thanks for called, I see you later

Come up to a stranger on the streets and tell him something nice, like how his shoes look nice, or he has a nice haircut, or anything . He will never forget you. You will also make his day. After all, unless you are some sort of celebrity or a pretty girl, it’s not every day that you get to be complimented by a stranger.

People going down the street, minding their own business, living in their small world of thoughts, plans, goals, wishes. And then you suddenly knock on their door and say something. It’s very interesting to see people’s reaction their ‘barrier’ being broken and their attempt to something back, or to try to figure out what is happening. You most likely derailed their whole train of thought by simply coming up to them and saying something.

Maybe it’s just me, but I can remember almost all the people who ever asked me for directions, or just approached me to tell me something.

It partially has to do with that the factor of expectation. Nobody expects a stranger to come up to them and talk. Which is kind of sad because it partially alienates our society, making every individual a little bit more isolated.

       Pulling all nighters is a horrid habit of mine that started in my late high school times. The pressure of the finals and lack of free time  resulted in long sleepless nights. So in a way I induced my own insomnia. I must say it treats me well so far. It is quite ironic how during sleepless nights instead of spacing out and day dreaming I would find myself in perhaps my most inspirational moments.  I think of writing novels of dragons and future space expeditions; composing songs; filming a movie and perhaps asking that girl out on a date.

     The problem is I think.

      Once my English teacher gave me a rather simple, yet such an important advice – don’t set things aside for later, do them now.

      It just started raining. It rains often here during winter.